Huffing and puffing, Scuttler stopped by a tree to catch his breath. He heard some murmuring, so he used his unicorn magic to amplify the sounds:'...I wonder why they don't have them...' (don't have what, Scuttler wondered, and who was "they", exactly?) '...Imagine never specializing in anything.'

Scuttler recognized that voice. It was one of his classmates, the one that seems to have issues sitting still. What was her name again? Moonlooker or something? He realized that she was one of the two fillies he hadn't recognized standing outside the window with Clover and Neptune, so he came to the conclusion that the others must be nearby. Carefully, he crept into the foliage surrounding a large clearing, but at the last moment, he snapped a twig rather loudly.

Uh-oh. I hope they didn't notice, he prayed as the voices petered out. Maybe they just went out of earshot, yeah, that's it! He convinced himself.

"If you promise not to tattle, you can be one too," Clover said, generously.

A filly appeared, dancing along a path carrying a ruby. It was the same pony that the group of young ponies had seen in the forest, and her name was Ruby. She gave it to Roneo, who was overjoyed, presenting it to Starlet. Then, as if by magic, a magnifying glass appeared on the filly's flank. Roneo and Starlet drew back, afraid. The stallion Grey Hoof galloped up, accompanied by another stallion, Gladstone.

"Witchcraft!" Grey Hoof cried out, glaring at Ruby. Gladstone immediately took hold of Ruby, and the other townsponies echoed the call. Ruby tried to escape, but was held firmly, not just by Gladstone now, but by all the townsponies. She was swept away by the crowd, their faces masked with hate, all chanting, "Burn the witch!"

One pony alone tried to stop them. This was Ruby's mother Mitta. "Stop!" she screamed. "My poor child... she's not a witch! Think of what you're doing!"

But the ponies would not listen, and Ruby was taken to the bonfire in the centre of the town and thrown upon it. Mitta wept as her child, shrieking in pain and terror, was burned. As soon as Ruby died, the town was enveloped in darkness. The flesh melted from the townsponies, all cept Mitta, leaving them as skeletons with firey eyes.

Mitta noticed the strange ponies; Clover was hysterical with fear as she watched the proceedings.

"Come with me, everypony!" Mitta called out to them. "You must come with me, where you can be safe! The townsponies will attack you!"